Paid in Blood
by LadyDM
Summary: When civil war divides the Gerudo Fortress, who will win out?  The tradition of the King, or the memory of a Sage?  Oneshot.  Warnings for violence, character death, and OCs.


**Hey, how ya doin'. This is a scene out of my larger story, Hope Springs a Kernel. I couldn't fit it into the story, so I posted it as a oneshot. In a nutshell, these two are a pair of Gerudo captains dueling for the position of Ganon's second-in-command. The characters are mine, but Gerudo are not because if I owned LoZ, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.**

* * *

><p>A hot wind blew across the desert. Daylight stole across the dunes, sending the night creeping back into darker times. Nearly three hundred Gerudo gathered in a semicircle before the Desert Colossus. Two stood apart, facing each other, each as stoic as the stone woman keeping silent sentinel above them. They each held twin cutlasses in their hands.<p>

"So it comes to this." Cecil's words broke the silence. "More attention than I expected your death to warrant."

"It doesn't have t'be like this." Arali replied. "Surrender, Cecil, and lay down your blades."

"A true Gerudo buys her crown in blood." Cecil snapped. "Even the Sage knew that. Let's get this over with."

Arali did not reply as they bowed, and neither hesitated in the moment after.

Cecil lunged forward, both curved swords sweeping towards the younger Gerudo. Arali blocked with the flat of one blade, the other thrust forward towards her dark-eyed opponent. Cecil backflipped out of range, landing on both feet with her knees bent slightly, almost a crouch. Sunlight flashed off the surfaces of her cutlasses.

Quick steps closed the distance, and Arali swung hard. Sparks flew as she brought her cutlasses down upon Cecil's own. The shorter Gerudo did not budge, instead pushing back against the blades. Arali was thrown, landing on her back on the sands. She rolled out of the way just in time, the point of a cutlass burying itself where her throat had been a moment before. She jumped back to her feet, the blade in her left hand thrust towards Cecil.

The older woman used the trapped sword as a pivot, spinning around to kick her enemy in the stomach, only to be met with the flat of a cutlass. She was launched back but recovered quickly, rolling to her feet in time to block Arali's strike. She kicked her buried blade, dislodging it, and caught it nimbly by the hilt. Warily, the two Gerudo circled.

Suddenly Arali moved, stepping into a whirling tornado of movement and metal. Cecil kept both weapons up, blocking the first couple of strikes only to hiss in pain as one cutlass sliced home, opening a thin line of blood across her belly.

Cecil responded by spinning the hilt of a cutlass, catching one of Arali's blades by the curve. Her right-hand cutlass shot out, catching Arali's hand with a point, slicing the knuckles and making her drop the cutlass in her hand.

Arali jumped back, a move of her wrist releasing the knife concealed in her bright orange sleeve to slide into her injured hand. Sand flew into the air behind her as she slid back, catching Cecil's eye as the short-haired Gerudo advanced. Her cutlasses crossed in a pincerlike motion as she stepped forth and sought her former student's throat.

The knife slid up, blocking the crossed blades, and Cecil drew in a breath sharply as Arali's other cutlass slipped beneath the cover of her own blades and reopened the cut on her arm. The dark-eyed Gerudo spun past, both cutlasses tapping a melody on Arali's own. The taller Gerudo's knife tapped a melody of its own, a shallow cut on her opponent's side its signature.

Blood dripped on the sand as the two continued, and as she lost ground, a truth made itself known that set Cecil's teeth on edge.

Arali was winning.

The younger Gerudo slid from one move right into the next, each sweep of her blades either forcing Cecil back or opening another dark red line across her tanned skin. Driven by desperation, Cecil backflipped again, landing in a crouch as one cutlass slid beneath a layer of sand. The look in her dark eyes was not remotely one of surrender, but a calculating look that Arali had only ever seen when her mentor was about to kill someone.

But Arali was winning, so she advanced anyways.

Cecil sprung back up, cutlass launching sand into the air and into the amber eyes of her former student. Arali blinked and stepped back, one orange-sleeved arm coming up to rub at her irritated eyes.

This time, Cecil didn't hesitate. A single silent step brought her in range, and she drove both cutlasses up through the distracted Gerudo's chest. Arali coughed up blood, arm dropping and bleary eyes opening to lock gazes with Cecil's. The older Gerudo's expression was unreadable as she lowered Arali to the ground. Her former student's mouth moved, but no words came to her now. Her eyes were still on Cecil as she let out one last ragged breath.

When no more were forthcoming, Cecil sheathed her blades and closed Arali's eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>If you liked that then you should check out Hope Springs a Kernel. Action, adventure, Gerudos, and Dark Link. Who could ask for more?<strong>

**Review and tell me what you think. :-)**

**-Lady DM**


End file.
